Blood Bound
by PhantasmStrikeout
Summary: Made to break, born to crack, let the blood flow as you walk amongst mortal men. The blood will seal the monster and beast and blood will let the boy become a Legend. The Storm shall come. Will have some amounts of violence later on. No real parings yet.


I know the first chapter sucks. I have no excuse for that so I tried editing it. So here's the edited version. I hope it's not as bad and sorry for the randomness it has. I just can't write in a straight line. I own nothing except for the strange plot and oc's. About Kushina uh she's going to be in the second chapter, but I cannot say if she's dead or alive yet.

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The sky was dark and gloomy rain was pouring down in a constant stream of grief. Rain came down to smother the flames, thunder roared in agonizing screams of maddened grief and insanity. The flashes of light racing across the sky, wreathing like insane dragons, and everybody felt it. The shock began to wear off and the reality of the deaths and loses began to grow and the deafening sounds of anger and woe began to rise in each person's mind. Today was a sad day for the grand village of Konoha. Today their great leader, the Yondaime died. He died in honor; he died a hero to his village. Today on October the tenth the walking catastrophe called the Kyuubi had come to their village's gates bringing a path of death most mighty and destruction with it. Its mighty tails had swung down on hundreds of shinobi crushing them in a most insignificant manner. It cared not to who came before it but all that mattered was the need to satisfy the intense and burning bloodlust inside it's soul. The pungent scent of burning flesh and fresh blood brought nothing to the great beast. This was nothing to it. These puny mortal's death's had nothing to give the great Kyuubi. No its pleasure would only lie in destroying the leaf village. Its blood would only be satisfied once the bastard who made him do this thing would die. Everything would burn. Everything would die.

But as a large toad big enough to tower the humans but not enough so that the Kyuubi would be threatened. Things as it would seem began to change slowly. The beast roared in delight as the stupid toad tried to hurt him. He the great Kyuubi! But pride and blindness would create the chance to defeat this beast tonight. The control that the man had placed upon the Kyuubi had limited its great wisdom and trickery leaving only it's insane powers and instinct. Minato Namikaze felt in awe of seeing the powers of the enraged beast. The awe that his mind felt didn't waver despite that fact that his people were dying, that the air was filled with blood, ozone and a matter of other things or that this beast looked at him like he was nothing. No the raw power that this beast showed was something so deadly and powerful to a man like Minato, powers that were forever to be beyond his reach and everyone else stood proudly before him. And despite the chills he had, the fear of dying and the adrenaline that made him forget about everything except winning, his mind accepted that in this beasts own right, whether it was doing this because it could or because of some twisted justice, it was still a beautiful and ugly being like them. It was just like every one of them on the field, just so much stronger. It killed and ravaged just as they had done in wars. It was to come and conquer like they had done before. But tonight no, even in the outlandish odds that they were pitted in against the beast, they would win. They would conquer. He Minato Namikaze would stand dead or alive before this beast dominantly and victorious. He would win. He would die.

Blue fear filled eyes sadly gazed at the bundle in his arms. He had no other choice. Minato would have to seal the beast in his son. And make a vessel worthy for a container but as he thought about the glory of the beast it made him wonder. It made him think, he was no fool to think that his villager's would not turn against his son. Whether they knew him to be a hokage's legacy or not grief was grief and death could either make you or break you. Nothing in his mind made him think for a second that there was a perfect chance that his only son would live a charmed life. He knew Kushina well enough to love and trust her but death made things change. And even then his eternal love for her was questioned. It was different to love another and to love your own he knew that. He knew that the day he watched his parents die, to feel the sloppy mess of their bodies pressed up his skin, to see the way their life was smothered out of their eyes. He knew that when he held in his arms for the first time he held his Arashi and his Naruto. It changed you. It killed you. And he wondered in this insane love Kushina had for him would she forget that this boy Naruto was their son as well? Would she forget that she gave birth to this child of flesh and blood to wallow in loss and madness? Maybe she would or she wouldn't but he would not allow him to die or to suffer - Naruto was his. He would always be he promised. Minato would not be like his father.

In an angry bark Minato ordered the ANBU stationed in the room as well as the elders and the Sandaime to get out. Then he cursed in anger at himself as he began to formulate the plans. He thought hard for a moment until his son began to cry and he moved towards his baby. He gently picked him up and began to hum a soft tune for his son. The baby whined still and he whispered softly, "Sh, it's going be okay little Naruto I'm going to take you away and I'll protect you alright? I promise to always be there for you. I'll always be by your side." Looking down into wet blue orbs that shone with life, a mirror image of his own he smiled and fell into thought.

Minato thought hard enough for three seconds when the most ridiculous idea decided to drop from heaven and into his mind. He was going to talk to the Kyuubi and ask for a pact. Minato respected power and there was something wrong with the scene before him. A kitsune was smart and agile not stupid enough to think of different thoughts like sealing. And this age old kitsune should have known about the other vessels. So he and this great Kyuubi were going to talk. He looked at the kunai in his hand. And there was something of the answer. If he could teleport from one kunai to the other through the seal, could he in theory use it to let his soul jump from one body to another like the Justus of the Yamanaka did? He pondered on Hakke no Fuuin Shiki and the Shiki Fuuin he was supposed to use as he began drawing the seal on his child's stomach. What if he altered the Hakke no Fuuin Shiki? No that would still end up with him dead. What if he made a different seal with the Hakke no Fuuin Shiki as final coat instead of a base? What if he used a blood binding seal? Perhaps that would work. He'd use the demon's power to seal itself in his son and let the blood oath be the one to power it along with the charka that was in his son.

Minato had once studied the Yamanaka Justus and understood how they worked what was happening and how to do it. But how was he going to do it when none of the other Yamanakas were successful. Not even the beast could move at the speed of light. So he had to apply the Hirashin seal on the beast's forehead. He formed the cross like seal and formed twenty kage bushin and they each moved into motion setting to work on paper copies of the Hirashin seal combined with the altered version of the Shintenshin no Jutsu and a special chakra draining seal along with a highly concentrated exploding tag. Then two clones formed another back up plan along with several other scrolls to help Naruto if ever Minato…died tonight. "Oi, the sealing is done," spoke one of the clones his voice grave as he held up ten pieces of paper. "And so is the Hakke no Fūin Shiki." Then one last clone closed his eyes breathing in deeply. A sad sound filled with guilt and thought rang out in the room. "We have placed the tags around the line towards the home and taken everything inside. The house will be no more once we are done. We have spoken with Arashi and he knows what to do, he will follow soon after." There would be no home to sleep in tonight.

"Someone go get Arashi," ordered Minato his eyes blury as the clone's eyes connected with his own. The clone nodded and gave a small spark of chakra disappearing in a flash of yellow. "Hey there little guy you must be so tired staying awake all night. You must hate me right now," He raised his son so that he could look into the wide blue eyes properly. The baby was clueless but it felt the sadness of the warm and it cried out loud. "Sh, it's okay, Naruto it's okay." Rocking the little bundle of tears he tried humming but the baby screamed louder as he continued. So he stopped and he laughed grimly, "No wonder I never became a singer. Sh, come on I'll stop okay? Come on little one stop crying, for me, just for me please."

"Wow." Another blond leapt into the room his, his blue eyes having a slight green tinge in them were wide as he stared happily at the crying child in Minato's arms. "That's my brother. Hey pops pass him to me!" The gangly teenager bounded towards to him completely forgetting the impending doom they were facing as he looked at the mini-clone of his father. Minato smiled at his other son and motioned for him to sit in the bench beside him. "Arashi, hold on we have to talk, alright?" There was the sad and hollow tone that made Arashi confused for a moment and then he turned his head to see the seals on his brother's stomach and on some slips of paper. "O-okay."

He sat down watching as his father turned to him and he saw the difference in him and his brother, his brother was a golden blond while he had platinum blonde hair and his eyes were more aristocratic with a tilt to them. Arashi's skin was pale and smooth like porcelain while his brother was tanned and sunny. He smiled even if they were half brothers this was just awsome. "Arashi, tonight I'll have to seal the fox into your brother, Naruto. You know how Kushina is right?" Arashi nodded dumbly as he remembered the lessons he took with his father about sealing and vessels. And Kushina she was a whole other story, she was a bit bitter about the fact that she was marrying Minato who was already married at the time and she was a ticking time bomb. She loved his dad really but she was jealous of how Minato seemed to love Arashi's mother more.

The blindness of love and obssession. Kushina was lovely in her own right but she expected too much out of Minato and their love. "She will be careful, but she is I can see it now, broken. She has lost so much that now what she loves she will die for. She will I think hurt Naruto if I am to die from the sealing. But I want it to go in a different way, you know about the blood seals and the oaths right?" Arashi smiled at his father as he slowly imagined a better out come, "Yeah, I remember. So you're gonna try a blood pack with Kyuubi? That's gonna create one hell of a backlash in the chakra system of nature. I mean Kyuubi is nature that's kinda threading a tight rope with the same width of spider silk divided by tens of billions of times."

"Yes, that's the idea, but it's better if it does go through, the elemental backlash would be worse than summoning the Death God but the benifits are much higher than just being a simple vessel. Naruto would more or less be shunned even if you are his brother and even if I'm his father. The fact will remain that the deaths caused by the Kyuubi will over shadow the fact that Naruto's sacrifice and mine will save them. But if I do go through the ritual and everything goes right I will live and I can run with Naruto to the bunkers," reasoned Minato with a small smile. "Though I will also try to remain here. After all Konoha is our home."

Arashi smiled and gave a small laugh, "Ah, so we'll be leaving Konoha as soon as the sealing is finished if your first plan does work, other wise I am to run and take Naruto to the bunkers?" He stared at his brother wondering how life would change after this night. He pondered on the things he had yet to finish here in the town he grew up in. But he also had a lot of things he didn't like. Then something flashed through his mind as he remembered a certain Academe. "What about the Hidden Academe dad?"

His father looked smug for a moment forgetting the sadness and fear of the things to come. Minato sat down next to his son sighing for what seemed like a life time, "Well they are oath bound to go where the Namikaze will go. So they will remain allies of Konoha for the moment but once Danzou or Homura learn of this they are going to freak. I'm thinking of giving Konoha a few months of help from the Academe before they are to report back to us. That or we leave them to Konoha, but I'm positive Konoha isn't going to be very popular in the comming years."

A still silence brushed them as father and son contemplate the future of their home, the home that brought much grief and sorrow. "Dad, was grandpa murdered right? And so was most of the main Namikaze bloodline right? They did it didn't they? That bastard did that to mom too." Arashi's eyes became greener suddenly as his chakra flared remembereing what happened to his mother all those nights ago sent his blood boiling. His eyes narrowed and his bones popped oddly as his frame shook, small growls of anger and hate rushed out in hushed breaths. Arashi was flaring killing intent as thick as a sannin could give out, and just as the room's air swirled ominously a hand was placed on his shoulder and Arashi glared into icy blue eyes.

"Let it go." And all the anger pent up was placed back inside waiting for the right moment to strike and unleash itself to the murderer of his family. Arashi being the more emotional had to bite his tongue to kick back all the tears. Minato sighed, he knew his son was still broken over his mother and was still the same shy and gentle kid who was never suited for this life and he tried his best to make him stop from going over board. He placed his hand on his son's forehead with a smile while passing Naruto to him. "Look the more you're angry the more Naruto will wake up and scream and he has the same set of lungs you and I have," he chuckled. "Take your anger and put it to a good place. Keep it for now. I know all too well this pain you have." Arashi nodded looking at his brother with a frown before passing him back to his father. "I know they did that and for that I no longer trust some of them. Actually a whole lot of them I want to kill but the day will come when justice will be ours." He smiled solemnly at his son who grinned back wildly. "Blood will be ours."

"Take the scroll with the blue lining," Minato cocked his head to the side where a small innocent scroll sat on the ledge of the table. "There the mission details will be. Be safe son." He hugged his son for the last time in a while and Arashi gave the hug back, "Be alive okay old man. I want to be the son of the man who made a great demon bow to him. Go get him dad." And Arashi then disappeared in a swirl of leaves, the small scroll disappearing as well as the Fouth Hokage was left to stew in his musings. "Blood will be ours."

He stared at his son for a long time his mind in a whirl of action. It was time to go and the modified version of the Hakke no Fūin Shiki would only be a last resort. He would face the monster like them and win. Whether it would be by his will or the most unwanted way. He summoned Gamabunta with a loud poof of noise and a large plume of smoke. "Minato time to ride?" The old toad boss looked at him straight in the eyes, scanning the dread and confidence that was exposed for him to dissect. Minato could only nod solemnly as He looked at the red abomination that he was supposed to talk to. Gamabunta frowned as he looked at the battle flied but said nothing until he saw the little bundle that Minato held carefully. "Is that the gaki? So you're finally a father to two, eh?"

Minato's cerulean eyes locked with his the fear resonating loudly with the unease. "Yes, this is Naruto. He's very energetic I say." And with that statement he jumped onto Gamabunta's wide back and they dashed off. Barking orders like crazy Minato was now in front of the beast that was distracted by random attacks by all the shinobi around it. There were other large toads dancing around the fox, distracting it with bursts of water and slices of blades. The moment of action was now at hand and Minato Namikaze was not afraid but curious and morbidly happy. Fire grazed the side of the cheek in a bad shot of luck and he did not move. He stood fast and ready as he threw a kunai into the air. With a burst of chakra he moved through the air and to the kunai. And there below him by a good hundred meters was the Kyuubi who still was plagued by the random attacks on its body. Pity, he thought. Such pathetic attacks. His people were truly insects next to this beast and he would soon rectify that mistake. He would make a right answer in the dark.

With a flash of light two three-pronged kunai had lodged their sharp tips, somehow by pure luck perhaps or was it the still wet cement coat he had prepared, in the thick fur of the beast. The beast paid no heed as it swung its tails at the ninjas on its right flank. Then he took the plunge in two bursts of yellow blinding light the Yondaime found himself holding his infant son on top of the fox with his left hand in mid swing about to slam the paper seal on the hot red fur of the Kyuubi. Despite the heat that radiated from the beast, and the power that ran wildly and raw beneath it, he held fast his face passive and emotionless. Then the paper touched the fur of the Kyuubi and it burned the fur and flesh. The scent of the beast's meat being sizzled by the high heat of the seal he created, hit him slowly as one of the red tails was just a meter away from his face. What glory was there if he died now? And the tail went out of sight as Minato focused on the seal.

The seal activated just a microsecond after the thought entered his mind. He found himself in a room. A circular room with plenty of plants and some white benches to his right it was a strange mind set for a tyrant of such magnitude and power. The plants gave off a soft scent like that of apples and blossoms in the summer. He closed his eyes as he felt a presence behind him. The Yondaime whirled around to see a door open out of nowhere. Azure eyes scanned the face of his son. Naruto as it seemed was in the mind of the Kyuubi along with him. He turned to the simple oak-wood door and walked towards it. The baby in his arms whined and reached for his coat. A soft humming tune resounded in the circular room for a moment as the father consoled his son. But the gentle tune vanished as it was overridden by the sound of a slow grumble. Minato found himself staring at the Kyuubi in its large and ominous form. "Hello Fox," greeted Minato as he walked towards the titanic form of the Kyuubi.

Minato seemed to ponder for a moment as he walked forward until at last he spoke, "What is it you want?"

Red eyes stared into gentle warmth consumed eyes. In the red eyes anger betrayal and bloodlust rang true and great. The endless symphony of rage and need touched Minato like a physical force, the supremacy of this primal want almost made him forget what his deed was. The fox he noticed was more of the wild beast than the wise creature he just knew kitsune were. Shackles of black and red chakra and fire were wrapped around the legs and neck of the beast. And he wondered what it wanted. "You ask me of my want? You ask me of my want?" The beast said in a deep booming baritone, the sound resembling the most horrible screeches of hell. "You ask me of my want!" Red paws gained claws of black rage. The sharp nails dug into the floor of the mindscape. "I want blood! I need blood. I need the blood of the red-eyed fool who dared to use me. I need the blood of the oldest red and black-eyed bastard, the man who smells of insanity and age; the man who calls himself Madara Uchiha. His death. HIS DEATH. Who has me in shackles! He who dared to use me for his worthless need! His pitiful need to destroy your useless village is not worthy of my time! I want his death!"

The beast howled. And Minato said his voice leveled as he soothed his baby. "I can get you his death." The beast stopped it's screaming. It's crimson eyes locked with the ice blue of the puny mortal. "How can you give me his death? How could you whose people cannot even harm me allow me to kill the bastard I hunt?"

"It was also one of the puny mortals who had enslaved you. I can say that he has, if by your words I can trust, placed a lot of time into the planning of the destruction of Konoha. If I do what I will do he will come back and you can kill him then." Minato was not Hokage just solely by power he had the instinct to piece together a situation.

"Just as long as I have my want! If I fulfill my need then all you ask for is fine mortal. My want is first and that is all." A small grin broke out on the happy face of the elder Namikaze. This would be just fine. "Then seal it in blood." Minato held a kunai out and the Kyuubi locked at it for a moment. In it's almost mindless state it was trying to think of the consequences yet it's bloodlust was too great and it nodded hastily. Its large right paw was raised in front of his face just mere inches. "Seal it, let it be!" The deafening growl hit Minato at full force as he slashed the soft pads of the beast's paw. And blood began to pour onto the floor some of it slid down the Yondaime's arm from the kunai's edge. Minato then let his son's cloth fall from his bare body. And bearing the innocent flesh of his son to the fox he stared into its bloody orbs with confidence.

The creature howled with delight as it's blood fell onto the kunai and it felt the workings of a seal gnaw into its soul. It was the sensation he had felt only once before one with a god. A foolish half god who wanted to be like him attempted to control him, he with powers so great that he a mortal by their standards could kill them with a swing of its mighty tails. And he enjoyed this feeling of knowledge and hatred as the blood dripped onto the man's jacket soaking it thoroughly. Viciously like a living creature the blood quickly dropped onto the soft bare flesh of the child in his arms. The blood seeped through the cloth and onto the seal. "I seal you Kyuubi under the bonds that tie us all that breathe. To this child my son you will be bound so that his powers may grow from your stem, you will be sealed; for the chance to kill one man - Madara Uchiha. I seal you Kyuubi to serve and to protect my son and all he holds dear."

And with a snake like quality a soft hiss erupted from the seal as the blood began to be absorbed. "By your will and power I seal you in my son Naruto. Now Kyuubi beast of the elements do you swear upon this blood oath to do as this seal will command and grant me your power?" Minato began to shout as he channeled his chakra down into the seal in the mindscape. "YES!" The word repeated over and over again like a mantra as the seals began to take red chakra greedily. Minato found himself lighter as he formed one clone to put some of the crimson force in an energy containment seal. He thought it would be easier later as he had all of his things with him.

"Seal of the Blood Bound Demon!" Minato screamed. And he closed his eyes as the building light engulfed the three of them. And with an exploding crack of sound the Kyuubi seemingly vanished. In the now empty hall. The seal had worked and now the Yondaime was back on his summons's back. Looking down at his child's sleeping face that was unmarred and almost exactly like his own. Then it seemed like the world was frozen as everything fell silent and Gamabunta was frozen in a lunge towards an unseen foe.

"Think about it later do the work now." The blond man told himself as he created ten shadow clones. And they set to work. Each one of his precious kunai were summoned to his hand in a flash of light and the clones set to work on finding bodies they could use. And in the frozen moment he severed another ties he cut the binding contract he had with the toads. And he felt hollow for a moment just before ordering his clones what to do. Five of the clones had found a mostly intact body and began to change it's features to match his own then burned its finger prints over with his own. And in a matter of hurried painfully slow moments the desecrated body was now a clone of Minato the cells would even come up to be his thanks to the seal. And they found sadly a baby boy with black hair and pale skin in a pile of ruble at a small shack in the forest that Kyuubi destroyed. And the baby as well became a clone, an almost perfect clone of Naruto. Now it was time to set out.

He dispelled the clones and placed the baby who gurgled in its sleep in the dead ninja's arms. And he put a scroll with his supposedly last wishes and in a final act of precaution placed another seal on top of the fake seal filled with some of the vile crimson chakra.

With what little left of energy he had left the calm ninja activated a kunai he had left some time ago on the coastline of fire country to the east. And in a flash of yellow light he and his son disappeared.

And as the sudden shift in power rocked the world time moved again and Konoha found itself free of its harbinger of death. Ninjas of all ages looked at the spot where the Kyuubi once was. They were shocked to say the least their conscious minds slowly beginning to think that the beast was finally gone and that the destruction would end. They were wrong suddenly like a blast of power origination from where the beast once stood a powerful thick stream of red light that stuck everything its path some how heading straight for the wall of Konoha. Explosions rocked Konoha as fires broke out in the village, Minato's house the first to set on fire. And ashes rose with sadness as broken cheers of glee were shouted to the heavens.

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The Kyuubi was dead. The fox was gone!

Screams of happiness flew threw the air like rockets and smiles found themselves on the oddest of people. All the world seemed to close for a moment to save this happiness just untill the joy faded and reality sank in. While reality lay forgotten and unused the fantasy of having won the battle against the fox was amazing, it was like a drug to the soul. Something that proved you were in the worst of the shit just at that time. Even still the people rejoyced for they had won the war. The violent beast had disappeared just in a flash of light releasing it's death grip on their lives.

But not all were happy about this, a white haired man stared in shock at the dead body of his student; his heart denying it all, his mind on the verge of a break down as he looked at the blue, blue eyes of the baby boy that his student had sired. His godson Naruto was the savior of the village but somewhere deep down inside he thought it would have been best if Naruto had died as well. He picked them both up, his eyes becoming bleak as he walked to Gamabunta who felt the connection break for a moment before being summoned by Jiraiya. "So the brat is dead," it was a void answer the sound of it hurting both of them.

"Yes he's gone."

"He's gone," and the rain began to fall covering whatever tears slid down the sage's face. Hiding his anguish at the loss of his son. Yes his son. He was a stupid man to ever even think about abandoning his son. But he was young and foolish once upon a time. Their relationship would never be what it could have been. Jiraiya never even got to tell him he loved him or that he was his father. Now his grandson in all his childlike innocence could not be with him as well as he rode towards Konoha to show the stupid council their savior. He had failed them. He would be damned a thousand times if not more before he could ever show his face to Naruto, Arashi or his son in the after life. "I never got to say goodbye."

The rain cold and unrelenting splashed down on the fires of what remained. And quickly like scattering mice people were running to the battlefield to tend to the wounded. The Sandaime stared at them, his pipe in between chapped pale lips. "There is much to be done. Minato you fool, you should have given me the task of doing this awful thing." Age wore at him as his faithful student came into view. "Jiraiya." The name was a hopeful thing as it called to the father who had just lost his son and would loss more tonight. The sage did not need to lift his eyes as he and his clone stepped off of the summon who popped away in an immense plume of smoke. He entered the office careful not to look at anything other than the floor. He placed Minato down on the couch to his right. And the clone passed Naruto into his arms. And he held him tightly. In hope that his embrace would save Naruto from being taken away from him, he cradled him in his arms. Jiraiya the proud sage was weak and small as he held onto the boy with need and pain.

"I'll be there for you kid," Jiraiya promised as he put his lips to the baby's forehead. The baby whinned a bit but settled into the warmth that Jiraiya was giving out. "I promise I'll always be there for you. Little Naruto, I'll be by your side." Jiraiya smiled down at the baby, watching the little infant struggle a bit in his arms, he adjusted his arms and craddled the baby with two arms now. Gently he rocked back and forth awed by the face that looked like his own son even with the small whisker marks on the chubby cheeks. "Look at you! Just like your father," cooed the sage sweetly as the baby sneezed. "Aw, let me wipe that off." He took out a small towel from his pocket and wiped the little Naruto's nose off, making the baby pout his lips and sneeze again.

Sarutobi watched like a stranger looking into a window of some man's home. It felt strange to see this warm and fatherly moment, like he wasn't meant to even see this. He wondered why this was so. Maybe it was because Jiraiya was like a father to Minato and he was only a teacher. Maybe it was because slowly as time passed they grew apart more and more with each passing moment. Each wrong mistake on his part cost him the trust and love that his student had for him. As he pushed away the misfit for the genius he neglected to see all the things that were happening as his little protege's went through the life that they chose. He never saw the Jiraiya despite being a pervert was a kind man who never let any woman down. He never saw the slow and suicidal fall of Tsunade after her loses. Maybe it was true he was quite foolish, so foolish to let all his students fall to a madness unique to them alone. But he had to rectify this.

"Jiraiya, give him to me." It was an order but it came out as a plea. A beg for Jiraiya to make this easier because in the end it hurt his Teacher to see him so aching and pained. There was no answer from the man who sat on the windowsill humming songs to the boy. It was the picture of insanity. Jiraiya had tears streaming down his proud and stiff face, his body tight with nerves as he rocked back and forth to the rhythm of the song. His teacher Sarutobi called him once more and his large frame shook. The dead look in is student's dark eyes pierced Sarutobi like nothing he had ever felt before. He saw the look in Tsunade's eyes a long time ago but it was nothing compared to now. Jiraiya's eyes were dead like his student's, his Minato; for once he did not understand the true reasons. But the third Hokage knew what it was like to lose a student. "Jiraiya, come here and give him to me now." The man did not move instead he sang.

He could not allow madness to take his student. "Jiraiya I order you to give me Naruto." The old leader barked with ferocity as his student turned his head to face him. Those dark eyes that stabbed at him as the Hokage moved to get Naruto. "This is an order or you face treason. Or at the very least I shall have you court marshalled for insubordination." It wasn't likely to be treason but there had to be something to make him stop. "You won't get to see him and Arashi if you're gone Jiraiya." A twitch sparked thought in the back of Jiraiya's mind. To never see Naruto and Arashi? It was too cruel and he could not stand it. He reluctantly passed the reinstated Hokage his grandson and shut his eyes.

"Thank you Jiraiya, I know it's hard to lose a student. But he died for a-," Sarutobi began his talk. But a loud crack told to him to stop. Jiraiya was on the ground his hand smashed through the floor. "Stop. Just stop, you don't understand at all. You'll never understand!" It was a leveled shout. The kind that doesn't need force to kill you. And Sarutobi for the first time in a long life felt more scared now than he did with the beast banging at the doors of his home. "Jiraiya for this once I will let you speak to me in this manner," spoke the Hokage in a strange bout of spite. He didn't understand it but the way his student was talking gave him the feeling of loss. "I will speak to you how I will it, Hokage-sama. I know of your mistakes, I know what you've done to try to keep everything in line. But all things done for justice have a darker side, just like with Danzou and Orochimaru," He pointed his finger in the Hokage's face. "You are no different, you are the same as every man and woman who said they knew, when you know nothing, Sensei."

"Jiraiya," thundered his mentor. "You dare speak to me in this manner! You are in pain yes but respect me still as your Hokage if nothing more. I ask for nothing. I accept my mistakes, I am foolish. Though keep in mind who you speak to. That is all I ask of you boy." They stood glaring at each other, eyes burning with emotion. One was loss and anger while the other was thoughtful and pained. "Respect is earned not bought by supiriority. You lost my respect when you threatened me with never seeing Naruto and Arashi. You had my respect almost to the very end but you lost it, Hokage-sama, you lost it," replied Jiraiya smoothly as he looked at his youngest grandson. "Expect me to bring reinforcements for our Konoha but not for you."

"Take care of him or I will kill everyone who dared to even look at him wrong." And Jiraiya stepped out of the room. The looming shadow of death was hanging over Sarutobi's head and the village in the visage of their Sage. The Sage who would do what he would to protect what was his own.

Sarutobi was in shock for that he could have Jiraiya's head but the utter finality in those dark tear stained eyes made him do a double take. Was the bond between master and apprentice so strong that Jiraiya could do that to his master? "What am I going to do with you?" Sarutobi looked down at the baby in his arms who smiled at him. It began reaching for him with its chubby fists and he asked the child again, "What am I going to do with you?"

"Well you could start by taking him to the council meeting. I mean you're taking to long. Must be the old bones. Or maybe you're just not fit enough to be Hokage. Such a foolish thing to become a Hokage again - especially when you're so damn weak," sneered a voice. Sarutobi merely raised his eyes to meet the red of a certain Fugaku Uchiha. "You have the gall to speak to me in such a crude manner Uchiha. Don't forget who I am since I won't forget that I can have you killed right here and now." The Hokage was angry; no he was utterly and unusually pissed off. He was about a centimeter literally speaking close to killing Fugaku in his office. His office he thought with a grimace. He was Hokage all over again. Once was enough but twice? And this idiot comes strolling into his office like he owned the damn place? Yes anger was the right word to use but not the right degree. He locked his eyes with Fugaku, "The secrets of your kin may talk too soon Fugaku. So by your stubborn will I suggest you shut the hell up." Hell sounds like a good vacation spot wouldn't you say?

Fugaku growled a bit and backed up away from his Hokage. He bowed low at the waist and pushed his pride of a cliff, "I'm sorry for the rudeness I have shown." Sarutobi knew this man was a bastard of the highest order. And he was so tempted to call out ANBU to kill the sorry man. The need to put his anger into something was beginning to bite at his mind. The temptation so strong he had to remind himself he still had little Naruto in his arms. Dear Kami give him strength to resist the temptation from the growing need to destroy the man before him and the rest of the bigoted idiots who would come today to test his strength. A giggle of the baby was sent to help him.

Sarutobi walked towards the door not before looking over at Fugaku's bowed form. Strain etched on the back of the proud man. "Stand Fugaku." And dutifully like the supposedly loyal ninja of the Hokage he was he rose from his bow. And Sarutobi smiled gently. "You are lucky and should be thankful that I have a child in my arms boy or else you would be nothing but dust right now." The age-old shinobi whispered into Fugaku's ear with a happy tone. And he straightened up with a sigh. "So come on now Fugaku we have meeting to attend to." Fugaku shivered visibly. This was the might of the Hokage. The ability to be so kind in such a way that you knew, you were going to die soon. "This is just a prelude I know everything, Fugaku and I can yank the carpet now unless you change."

Fugaku reigned in his emotions as fast as he could but judging from the boisterous laugh his leader gave he already saw it. But his mind was too shocked to actually understand that his Hokage knew about the plans. "How do you know," the dear Freudian slip just passed by. "I hid it all I-." Realizing his slip of tongue Fugaku promptly shut up. "My dear boy I am old but not stupid enough not to notice things in my village."

Sarutobi then smiled at him amiably, "This will not be the first of many nights where you will speak to me in such a manner alright boy? Or I will use that certain something that Minato left for you." That spark of fire in his eye set the timer ticking in the Uchiha head's mind. The stupid will of fire now is it? "Yes Hokage-sama. It will not happen again." He bowed low once more and Sarutobi smiled at him benignly placing a wrinkled hand on the Uchiha's shoulder. "Then so shall it be." Fugaku let out a small gasp as the sharp prick of chakra invaded his system and found it self in his core.

"I suggest you start showing this old man to where ever the council is. So come now Fugaku rise and guide me," Sarutobi spoke in a soft grandfather like tone the unnervingly kind smile still plastered onto his face. With a simple hand gesture Fugaku rose. "Yes, Hokage-sama." Fugaku was not a religious man who believed in karma or Kami but this man who looked at him like the pawn he was, placed a seed of something. Something that could be called fear at one point, it could be faith or it could just be respect. No one would truely know the impacts of this night's bout until many years later, when the skies would grow red as the blood that had sealed their fates.

"Good then." There was a smirk behind that old voice. The smirk of a winner who came and conquered, the old Hokage grinned a feral smirk. And with a slight hand gesture Fugaku moved in front of Sarutobi. "Then come my lord." Fugaku walked towards the darkly lit hallways of the Hokage Mansion, his mind in a flurry of thoughts and emotion. Turn after turn he lead his Hokage down the hidden chasms of the council. Light was ahead of them when Fugaku bowed to the Hokage with a stern face, "Here we are Hokage-sama." Sarutobi stared at the arch where the light shone through. So the battle is before me? "Thank you Fugaku you may go to your seat." Another deep bow followed the statement as the once prideful Uchiha stared fiercely into the dark eyes of his leader. "Of course Hokage-sama." And with that Fugaku quickly shuffled into the light and disappeared.

"Now little Naruto let us see to the fools," a giggle answered him with soft intensity. "Yes, to see to fools."

()()()()()

Arashi ran in the burning hallway of his home feeling the strange rush of power the moment the Kyuubi was sealed away. He felt alive and the fire barely touched him, he ran to the iner sanctum of the manor swift and agile like the flames the burned brightly before him. He ran smoothly and kicked down the door that stood in front of him. Everything was burning and tears clouded his eyes making it all the harder to make his way in the fading home where he once played. Here in one hall he saw the ghost of him and his mother laughing as his father sat sullenly looking at his tattered orange book. There in the other hall another memory slowly faded with each second that the flames ate at the wood. All this was too much for him as all the memories became ashes like his mother.

The tears sizzled away and turned to mist as they fell to the hot floor, Arashi twisted fluidly into graceful stanced thrying to get into the room that was just beyond this hall. "Dad, you better be right about this. I hope you're right," Arashi screamed charging blindly into the smoke. "You better pray you're right about this!" He remembered his father the image of the man with a voice of daggers dipped in the sweetest of honey, the strange siren of shinobi to be who told him what to do. And for the first time he cursed his father for what he had asked him to do, true this was also the first time his father had ever placed something so large on his shoulders. But still the mere fact that he was asked to watch all of this burn before him was truly too cruel. Fire licked at him as a lapse of judgement passed him and he slipped as the floor beneath him burned away, jumping up with small push of his foot the floor fell apart completely. He watched as time seemed to slow the fires feeling the sudden touch of a stray ember touch his cheek.

Arashi flipped over to the ceiling and ran to the left corridor where he spotted the second to the last door that blocked his path to the treasure that he was asked to retrieve. The sacred altar of the home that burned as bright as day, called to him like the way his father called men to battle, a siren of temptation and truth. He touched the door with his finger tips and the door shattered under the wave of wind and chakra. Flooum, the wind sounded as the splinters exploded and Arashi moved in a flash of blue chakra dashing straight into the flames. Fast enough not be burned Arashi emerged untouched at the other end where he stared at a white door lined with pictures. Ignoring the pictures and all the tears that came with them he did what he had to do.

Flesh met wood and the door collasped under the force Arashi supplied, fwoosh, wind picked up in the untouched room and Arashi looked at his father and mother's workshop. A long time ago this was sealed up when Kushina moved into their lives. A long time ago this was where his father first brought his mother when they arrived in Konoha. A long time ago seemed too close for comfort. He paused suddenly the dangerous act of stupidity holding him as the ghost of an embrace held him silently. "Mother where are you now?" No one answered him and he screamed curses and muttered vague promises of blood. He walked slowly not caring if the fire from the bombs would soon take the room, he looked around and found the one thing that his father could not take from the house. It was the small chest that by only his blood could it be removed. He walked up to the white bone chest, thinking of the fact that these bones had come from his mother. Placing his cheek on the top of the chest Arashi stared at the roaring fire that was infront of him. Red, crimson and scarlet like that woman's hair, like the blood that had shot out of his mother, so much like everything.

To shut the screams out he kneeled placing his cheek firmly of the cool smooth surface of the chest. These bones had been morbidly taken from his mother and fashioned into a fine chest of ivory, strong as steel, more beautiful than gems and more precious than the house that burned. His mother had been gone for a while and for now this was all that he could salvage. "I'm coming mom," he promised as he wiped some blood from a cut on his hand. "I'm coming home."

And the seal blurred for view, clink, the array of locks sounded their release and Arashi let out a shaky laugh. "ARASHI!" Someone had just called his name. Who was it? "ARASHI!" There was the scream again muffled by the smoke and haze in his mind. The scream made him melt, someone was here so he had to hide the box some more blood was wiped on a small tattoo by his right wrist and a small whisper of air floated in his mind as the box was sealed.. He responded softly, "Yes?" Did the person hear him? No call came back to answer who ever it was must have gone away. A shadow loomed before him, he watched the form come closer to him. He saw the wide and tall frame huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf in the stories he used to read. He fell to his side clutching at his chest, suddenly feeling the weight of the smoke on his mind he gasped. What was this? Was this how you felt when you breathed in too much smoke? Was he too careless? "Arashi," screamed the voice and he looked at the shadow. Could shadows scream in death?

"Yes." He answered again. "I'm Arashi."

The shadow ame forward swiftly and deftly like a ninja. "Hey are you a ninja like me?" Arashi asked the wide shadow with spikes around it's wide smiling face. "Hey can't you at least answer?" To answer him the shadow barked like a dog, and then he was flying through the the flames and fire. Arashi laughed like he hadn't laughed in years. If this was flying he wouldn't mind getting wings if he became an angel. He didn't mind if his back seared in pain, he just wanted to fly. "Wow, this is amazing!" Laughter filtered his mind of the haze as fresh air hit him and suddenly he saw the stars. The stars were so pretty tonight! Then he was flying too fast and he no longer saw the stars, but he saw the skies burning. "Why is the sky burning!" Indignation screamed through his body, a song of hate and pain as the sky burned red like blood and he could only cry and scream.

He felt outrage and screamed at the top of his lungs, "WHY?"

The shadow that helped him fly gunted and he saw the faint outline of red hair, red as the flames that burned the beautiful sky. Red like the hair of a monster, it clawed at the sky leaving it bleeding and the pretty stars disappeared in blinks and flashes. Then something flashed through his mind and he remembered what was in the direction of the fire. He let out a small gasp the last of the air in his lungs used and all he remembered was crimson everywhere.

()()()()

A lone figure shot out of the shadows his face shocked as power ran through his veins like wild fire. Fire it burned in him. It burned like the sun as he ran on the water. This is blood, this is power! And he streamed like water, he felt like metal strong and firm yet so fluid. Land was near his line of site as the large waves, that towered over him and the large rocks that pierced over the water, parted. The darkness was nothing as his eyes took everything in. Despite running for forever he never got tired. He was power in human form. Blood powered him like a battery and he ran straght for the coastline that lay beyond the largest wave yet. Home.

Hours washed away like seconds as his racing mind understood what was happening. Everything seemed clear in one moment and a blur in the other. The man was no believer but something tangable was just a little further away from him and he just had to run for it. And he felt like he could make it. The sky was now rosy with the sun rising straight ahead of him, the odd shades of dusk coloring the sky as he suddenly felt like lead. His muscles roared in protest, and suddenly it was like his strength wa all gone. Every little wisp of power his or not was drained and with each step his feet began to sink into the water. Sounds of water splashing underneath his feet made him panic.

The next wave was three times his size he guessed as he looked behind him and he was slowing down as he slowly fell into the water. He jumped with the last of his strength and he stared at the brown sand just a few meters from him. The coast was clean and untouched, his home was just there. And he ran even as the wave caught up, his legs burning from the sudden ache of missing power, his lungs heaved like it was going to be his last breath and his heart slammed heavily against his chest in a stampede of pumps.

Like a hammer the wave hit him and he instinctively curled up into a ball. Rolling into the shore he rose shakily looking down at his package, to see if it was safe. He smiled when he saw his son was safe and walked towards the shadows of the forest. Swing after swing of pain hit him and he fell to his knees, looking at a shadow of a person, a child with white hair and green eyes. And those innocent green eyes regarded him for a moment before the child disappeared. His eyes slid to a close and in his brief moment of clarity he felt himself hold on tighly to the bundle in his arms as he was carried away to where ever.


End file.
